The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 425: The Lennon Archipelago Migration Fever

Roostown. The whistle of the steam locomotive echoed over the town.

Plumes of black smoke billowed from the locomotive's smokestack, dissolving into the overcast sky. The train began to move slowly, pulling away from the crowded platform.

Tesla, leaning on his cane, stood by the carriage door. He waited until the doors slid shut and the train had cleared the platform before returning to the warm, luxurious, carpeted car.

As a regional supervisor and one of the key figures in the Tenebrae incident, they had earned the right to travel in a first-class carriage.

“After the Night Calamity, the Council of Elders suspended all train services,” Tesla said, sitting down across from Lu Li and removing his hat. “But these are special times. People are flocking to the ports, desperate to get to the Lennon Archipelago.”

He hung his hat on a hook by the window and offered a friendly smile to JoJo and Frank, who were watching him with curiosity. They had already been introduced.

“This train is bound for Belfast, but we’ll be taking a detour through Arumbed County, following the northern coast of the Allen Peninsula.”

“Will we be passing through Zenster?” Lu Li asked.

“Yes... but the city is abandoned now.”

Lu Li didn't dwell on the route. He asked, “What about the Lennon Archipelago? Is everything they’re saying true?”“Mostly,” Tesla replied, pouring coffee into cups. He offered one to Lu Li. “Have something warm to drink. It’s true that the Lennon Archipelago has far fewer anomalies than the Main Continent, the Fallow Lands, or the Allen Peninsula. We still don’t know why. Perhaps it’s because the archipelago is too scattered and isolated for the anomalies to reach.”

Having recently showered, Lu Li sat across from him, wrapped in a blanket. His black hair was still damp.

“Do you have today’s newspaper?”

Tesla asked the steward to bring a newspaper.

While they waited for the steward to return, Tesla asked, “So, the Mother of the Swamp was victorious?”

They had watched her servants retreat into the jungle, while the servants of the unknown evil god vanished.

“Yes,” Lu Li answered curtly.

“Do you know who that unknown evil god was?”

“Also the Mother of the Swamp.”

Leaning back in his seat and watching the landscape drift by the window, Tesla gave Lu Li a surprised look.

“Let’s wait for the Trader,” Lu Li said. As he had mentioned before, the story was too long to tell twice.

“Alright, but you’ve certainly piqued my curiosity,” Tesla smiled, turning his gaze to the returning steward.

“Thank you,” Lu Li said, accepting the two newspapers. The headlines on the front pages read:

[Lennon Archipelago Migration Fever]

[People Flock to the Lennon Archipelago!]

The content of both articles was similar. With the increasing frequency of anomalies, more and more uninhabited areas were becoming dangerous, and a growing number of towns and villages were disappearing from the map. The aristocracy and the middle class were all searching for a safe haven.

And so, all eyes turned to the Lennon Archipelago. It had few anomalies, and its scattered islands provided natural isolation. An invitation from the queen and the recommendation of exorcists had made the Lennon Archipelago the most popular destination for migration.

Due to the frenzy and the dangers of sea travel, the price of a ticket to the Lennon Archipelago had soared to 1,500 shillings—and that was just for a bunk in a third-class cabin.

This meant that only members of the middle class, or those who had sold all their possessions, could afford such a journey.

Besides the Lennon Archipelago, the Fallow Lands had also gained popularity.

The Fallow Lands were sparsely populated, with most people living in a few coastal cities. Perhaps due to this concentration of population, it was harder to detect scattered anomalies, or perhaps there were simply fewer of them. In any case, reports of anomalies in the Fallow Lands were rare.

Therefore, the Fallow Lands became the second choice for those who wanted to escape but lacked the funds. Some also hoped to use the Fallow Lands as a staging point for illegal migration to the Lennon Archipelago.

This was precisely why the trains had started running again, despite the risks.

Countless residents of the Allen Peninsula were flocking to the ports, preparing to leave their homes behind.

“What are your thoughts on all this?” Tesla asked as Lu Li set the newspaper aside.

“The food problem hasn’t been solved yet,” Lu Li replied.

With plants having stopped growing, it was unclear whether the Lennon Archipelago could feed such a large influx of people.

“Don’t worry. The Lennon Archipelago doesn’t have much agriculture, but its fishing industry is nearly as prosperous as Belfast’s.”

“And what if the fish disappear?” Lu Li asked, not sharing Tesla’s optimism.

“For now, fish and some scavengers are our only stable sources of food,” Tesla answered. “If the fish disappear, as you say, then it won’t matter where we are.”

The unseen threat was always more terrifying than the one you could face.

Far more people were dying of starvation than from anomalies.

“Have they found the reason for the plant deaths yet?” Lu Li asked.

A brief pause followed before Tesla answered, “They have.”

His expression suggested it wasn't good news.

The silence lasted for about fifteen seconds before JoJo, sitting at the other end of the car, broke it.

“Should we perhaps leave?” she asked. It seemed to her that the conversation to follow was not meant for outside ears.

“There’s no need,” Tesla replied. “But are you sure you want to know the harsh truth?”

Before JoJo and Frank could answer, Lu Li said, “They’ve lost their last relatives and survived a day in Tenebrae.”

Lu Li’s directness might have seemed blunt, but that was his way.

Tesla apologized to JoJo and Frank, who quickly waved their hands to show it was alright. “My apologies. A professional hazard.”

Having apologized, Tesla answered Lu Li’s question.

“It’s an Evil Spirit,” he said, raising his coffee cup and blowing on the steam without taking a sip. “The agricultural department of the Imperial College on the mainland couldn’t find a cause. They only determined that seeds could still sprout indoors. The more hermetically sealed the environment, the better the seeds grew.”

“Then the Exorcist Association joined the investigation. They detected contamination—or, more precisely, the aura of the In-Between—in the withered plants. A subsequent investigation revealed that this aura was present in all plants. They named this evil spirit, which has afflicted all plant life, the Beginning of the End.”

“A pessimistic name,” Lu Li remarked.

Tesla just shrugged and continued, “The exorcists are now trying to find the source of the contamination. Most likely, it’s the location of the evil spirit itself. But there’s also a worse possibility—that this evil spirit has no physical form.”

Just as he finished speaking, a noise from the adjacent car broke the silence.

Tesla looked at the tall man who had just entered the car and smiled. “It seems I’m about to find out what happened in Tenebrae after all.”